Opponent group soliciting ideas to 'stop' CSU's on-campus stadium

Oct. 8, 2012

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| By Coloradoan staff

After the system’s governing board last week said yes to moving forward with building a football stadium on Colorado State University’s campus, opponents are sharing ideas to shut the project down.

Opponents of the proposed on-campus stadium project, many of whom identify with the group known as Save Our Stadium Hughes, will host a meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1709 W. Elizabeth St., Fort Collins. All people, including those who favor the stadium, are invited to attend, according to a news release about the event.

Attendees are encouraged to bring and share ideas “for the ongoing strategy to stop” the on-campus stadium, which CSU President Tony Frank said he’d like to build only if the university raises more than half the stadium’s estimated $246 million cost. While building the stadium isn’t a given, Frank and his staff will raise money during the next two years and decide how to proceed from there on. The Board of Governors has final approval power.

While project backers believe a stadium will boost the local economy, improve CSU’s brand recognition and draw the city and university communities closer together, opponents say it makes more sense to invest in updates to Hughes Stadium. And while Frank has said he won’t use taxpayer, student or university general fund dollars to build the stadium, opponents allege financial burden will fall likely upon those constituents.